Lance Moore tweeted goodbye to New Orleans and is likely cut. Meanwhile, Saints running backs Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles are reportedly on the block.

The Saints are in the midst of preparing for the new league year -- and free agency -- beginning at 4 p.m. ET on March 11. As such, with many teams, it's time for some old faces to go in order to create cap space.

One candidate who is almost certainly gone is veteran wideout Lance Moore. Moore tweeted on Friday morning his thanks to "Who Dat Nation."

Thank you New Orleans for an amazing nine years. Who Dat Nation, the best on earth!!!

Now perhaps Moore is simply moving and letting the good city of New Orleans know, but the likely scenario is that the Saints informed him of his release and he's tweeting it out. We see this all the time, as we did yesterday with Cortland Finnegan and the Rams.

Moore spent the past nine seasons with the Saints after latching on as an undrafted free agent. He was perfect in Sean Payton's system. (I always think of him as a perfect fill-in for Reggie Bush whenever the versatile "running back" would go down.) He was also a frequent red zone target for Drew Bress -- Moore caught 346 passes in that time for 4,281 yards and impressive 38 touchdowns.

Bush's actual replacement, Darren Sproles, might not be long for New Orleans either. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Sproles, along with Pierre Thomas, is on the trading block.

Thomas isn't a huge surprise and is another likely candidate to get cut. Owed about $3 million in the final year of his deal, Thomas is turning 30 next season and despite being an key member of the Saints offense last year, could easily be a casualty. It's possible there's trade interest in him.

Sproles, one of the most versatile backs in the NFL, is also heading into the final year of his deal. He wasn't as impressive in 2013 as he's been in the past and, again, the Saints need cash. Given that Sproles, who relies on his quickness to be effective, will turn 31 this offseason, it's possible the Saints could move on as well.

All of this means the Saints offense could look entirely different in 2014.

Will Brinson joined CBS Sports in 2010 and enters his seventh season covering the NFL for CBS. He previously wrote for FanHouse along with myriad other Internet sites. A North Carolina native who lives...
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